Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal exhorted the Indian plastic industry to take the sector from the current level of around Rs 3 lakh crores of economic activity to Rs 10 lakh crores in around 4-5 years. The Minister said that this would be a national service from the plastics industry; this will create at least 1 - 1.5 crore jobs, which the country needs today.

Addressing the 'Export Excellence Awards 2017-2021' of apex plastics industry trade body The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) in Mumbai, the Union Minister said that he sees the industry as one which gives a lot of impetus for job creation, especially in MSME sector, with the potential to provide jobs to many people from marginalised sections who have been left behind in the development cycle.

The Minister called upon the plastic industry to emerge as a benchmark for quality & carve its way towards a larger global market share.

He told the industry that it needs to reduce the volume of imports and become self-reliant. The volume of 17 billion dollars imports shows a clear market waiting for us to capture, said the Minister. "With an economy growing at 7-8 per cent for next 25 years, I am sure making the plastics industry a $100 billion industry in next 4-5 years is very much achievable. We must aspire to reach that level."

"We have to now look at significant growth since the world today is looking towards India, to be a part of resilient supply chains. India has requisite skills and capabilities in the plastics sector; we can match competition from anywhere globally," Goyal added.

The Minister asked the industry to think big and expand its global footprint. "Free Trade Agreements with UAE and Australia, which we have signed recently, will open opportunities for you in contemporary sectors, but this will be possible when we embrace international standards, so see how we can get a larger share of the pie in developed economies," he said.

Goyal emphasised the importance of upholding world-class quality standards. The Minister reiterated his appeal to the industry to upgrade technology and enhance the scale of operations. "All our products should be second to none in the world; it is time we embrace high-quality standards which will help sustain the industry in the long run. Sectors like construction and healthcare offer a lot of potential for the plastic industry; plastics can help bring down energy usage in automobiles and aeroplanes," he added.

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Minister assured the assistance of foreign missions to achieve the industry's foreign ambitions. "Our PM has instructed our foreign missions to look at trade, technology and tourism as a part of their key performance indicators; our mission heads are all quite excited to support, handhold and facilitate you, to connect you with local businesses."

Pitching for sustainability in the sector, the Minister said that we need to demonstrate to the world that Indians are environmentally conscious. "It is important to devise ways to collect and recycle and reuse plastic waste so that it does not mess with our environmental story. We need to consider segregating and reprocessing plastic waste seriously; once we can do this, it will significantly reduce the negativity about using plastics".

The Minister commended the industry, especially the plastic industry, for standing up and achieving challenging targets during COVID-19 and in the ongoing global situation in the wake of the war.

Chairman Emeritus of Nilkamal Ltd, Vamanrai V Parekh, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. 95 companies and organisations were honoured with Export Excellence Awards.

PLEXCONCIL, India's apex trade body in the plastics industry, hosted its Export Excellence Awards after a gap of two years due to the pandemic situation.